Why Restore the Everglades - Part 2
An American Natural
Treasure is in Trouble
The Everglades of today are not the same place that Mrs. Douglas wrote about in 1947. Once the Florida Everglades was a vibrant, free-flowing river of grass that provided clean water from Lake Okeechobee to Florida Bay. It was a vital haven for storks, alligators, panthers and other wildlife.
Today this extraordinary ecosystem—unlike any other in the world—is
dying. Over the past 100 years, people in great numbers have encroached
upon the ecosystem that once was the domain of panthers, alligators and flocks
of birds so vast that they would darken the sky. With the arrival of people
came the desire to manage the water, to tame the free flowing River of Grass.
The Central and Southern Florida Project was authorized in 1948 to provide flood protection and fresh water to south Florida. This project accomplished its intended purpose and allowed people to more easily live on the land. However, it did so at a tremendous ecological cost to the Everglades. While the population of people has risen from 500,000 in the 1900's to more than 6 million today, the number of native birds and other wildlife have dwindled and some have vanished.
Next: Part 3 - America's Everglades are in Serious Peril
